GROWING UP WITH JOEY--
The Rewards of Parenting Against Enormous Odds
Joey Papazian was born 20 years ago, the youngest of four sons. He was not expected to live. For although he was born into an advantaged family, he brought with him a set of disadvantages that would overwhelm most people and most families from the start. Joey had a rare form of epilepsy and severe cerebral palsy. He was born in danger.
Joey did suvive, in spite of enormous odds against him. Throughout his infancy and childhood, emergency trips to the hospital were a recurrent refrain. But Joey persisted, with an unbeatable instinct for survival and, as he grew, an instinct for courage and good humor as well.
Joey's success was also a success for his mother, Sandy, who never gave up on him, even when the effort to keep him alive was nearly beyond her. Joey's survival also owes much to the constant help of his father and brothers, who became an efficient family team in times of emergency.
There were times when the effort of caring for Joey nearly broke the family apart. But in the long run, the campaign to assure Joey a full and meaningful life was the cause that united the family and made it thrive.
Growing Up With Joey is Sandy Papazian's dramatic account of raising a son with severe physical disabilities. It is funny, it is scary, it is warm, and it is charged with page-turning energy. Reading this book is to live through moments of danger and experience the rewarding growth of a family in crisis.
 About the Author. Sandy Papazian earned her B.A. degree in criminology from the University of California, Berkeley. She worked as a juvenile probation officer for six years. She has also been an associate producer for several television movies, including In the Best Interest of the Child (CBS, 1990) and Fatal Friendship (NBC, 1992). She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, film producer Robert Papazian.
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